It Just Wouldn't Do
by MadameGiry25
Summary: When Nathan comes down with a nasty cold, it's up to Kristin to care for him. Cuteness ensues! Birthday fic for darkin520


**This fic is a birthday fic for the lovely darkin520. Happy late birthday my darling! I hope that you enjoy!**

"Is that all you're having, Captain?"

Nathan Bridger settled himself into a plastic chair, and smiled as he put down a cloth napkin. His fingers began to peel a perfectly round orange, allowing the peelings to fall onto the napkin. "Is that a problem, Dr. Westphalen?"

Kristin Westphalen frowned over at him, fingering her own knife and fork. "You barely ate anything at breakfast and now you're only having an orange for lunch. Are you feeling all right, Nathan?"

Nathan continued to peel. "I'm fine," he said with a shrug. "I'm just not very hungry."

The doctor didn't look convinced but she began to cut at her meat. She slipped a bite between her teeth and began to chew thoughtfully for a moment before she spoke again. "We seem to be having a bit of a problem with Darwin. I was wondering if you could come down and see if you can sort it out."

"What kind of problem?" asked Nathan, setting the orange down for a moment with a concerned look on his face. "Is he alright?"

"No, nothing like that." Kristin set her knife down. "He's acting a bit…difficult."

Nathan picked up the fruit once more and chuckled. "Oh, I see. Yes, I'd be happy to -"

The sentence was cut off by a giant sneeze that rocked Nathan in his chair and seemed to resonate throughout the entire mess hall. Wiping away the involuntary tears that the sneeze had dredged up, he looked over at Kristin sheepishly.

She crossed her arms. "Are you sure that you're feeling well, Nathan?"

"I told you, I'm fine." Nathan pulled a hankie from his pocket to mop his eyes with. "It was just a sneeze."

"A sneeze accompanied by poor eating habits?" Kristin was certain that she heard a sniffle and she shook her head doubtfully.

Nathan reached a hand out to pat her arm comfortingly. "It's just a slight cold, Kristin. I'm perfectly fine."

"Well, you don't sound perfectly fine to me." Kristin took the orange from his hands and set it down on the napkin amongst all of the peelings. "I'm taking you back to your quarters so that I can get a good look at you."

"Really, Kristin." Nathan tried to grab at the orange again but Kristin knocked it out of his reach. "It's just a cold."

"And if you're not careful, that cold could turn into something much worse," countered Kristin. "You're the captain and it wouldn't do for you to be incapacitated."

"That's true," admitted Nathan. "But it's not serious. And I really need to get back to the bridge to supervise the repairs on the -"

"The bridge can manage itself without you." Kristin decided. "I'll inform Jonathan where you've gone. Now you're coming back with me."

"I'd go with her, Cap," said Crocker from his position at the table opposite. "She's right. We won't be able to get by if you get really sick."

Nathan sighed. "Oh, all right."

"Chief? Will you inform Commander Ford that Nathan won't be returning to the bridge until further notice?"

Crocker nodded as he reached out to snatch the orange that Nathan had been forced to abandon. "Will you be wanting this, Cap?"

"Take it." Nathan allowed Kristin to pull him to his feet. "It looks like I'm otherwise engaged."

* * *

"Say ah." Kristin leant over him, tongue depressor in hand. It looked rather like a weapon if you considered the way that she was wielding it.

Nathan sighed from his position on his bed. "Kristin,"

"Stop acting like a child, Nathan." Kristin shook her head and bent down over him again. "Go on. Open up."

Nathan made a face but allowed her to slide the wooden stick into his mouth. She studied the inside of his mouth for a moment before removing the wood and setting it aside.

"What's you diagnosis, Dr. Westphalen?"

"The common cold," she said with a shrug. "As we thought. But I'm going to prescribe a few days of bed rest until you recover. A cold can easily turn into something worse if you don't watch it closely."

Nathan leaned back on the bed and shrugged. "How many days would 'a few' be?"

"As long as it takes for you to recover, Nathan." Kristin smirked and began to pack up her medical bag.

"And how long do you think that will be?"

"You'll have to tell me."

"But I feel fine," Nathan protested, trying to hide a sniffle. Unfortunately, there was no fooling Kristin and he knew it. "I really don't have time to be sick, Kristin."

"You won't have time when you come down with pneumonia from overexertion either. Believe me, Nathan. It's much better this way."

Nathan scowled as she helped him into bed. When she was satisfied that he was reasonably comfortable, she smiled down at him. "You're rather attractive when you're angry."

Naturally, her comment only made Nathan scowl all the more.

"Is there anything that you need? Something to drink, perhaps?" she asked, snapping her medical bag shut.

Now that he seemed certain that he wouldn't be able to fool her into thinking that he was well, Nathan shrugged. "Some juice would be nice. Or maybe a cup of tea. And a few tissues wouldn't be too far out of line."

She smiled down at him and shook her head. "I'll see what I can do."

* * *

Over the next few days, Nathan's cold seemed to grow progressively worse. His sniffles turned into a full blown stuffiness and the sneezing seemed to be constant at times. But worst of all were the headaches brought on by all the pressure in his head; he felt as though it was pushing the top off of his skull and the pounding….oh, the pounding.

Kristin was a blessed angel while he suffered through it. And it appeared that Jonathan was more than capable of handling the bridge, though thankfully nothing seemed to be going wrong that would require the captain's hand.

With all of his captainly duties taken care of, he was left to quietly endure his sickness in his quarters. Whereas other members of the crew might look upon an illness as an excuse for a rest, all of the relaxation and quiet was driving him out of his skull. He'd never been one for what he considered to be unnecessary respite.

On the third day of the cold, he was sitting up in bed and sipping at a bowl of broth when Kristin entered the room.

"How's our invalid?" she asked with a teasing smile, sitting on the end of the bed. "You're certainly looking better. I'd say that the worst is over, wouldn't you?"

Nathan chuckled and took a sip of broth. "I wouldn't say that."

"Why not?"

"Because, you'll jinx me!" She began to laugh and he reached an arm out to touch her face. "Forgive me if I don't kiss you, doctor. I wouldn't want you to get sick as well."

"Then you'd better stop touching my face," she laughed, taking the empty bowl from his hands and snuggling against him. "Good way to spread germs."

He took her in his arms and leaned back against the pillows with a contented sigh. "Thanks for all you've done for me, Kristin."

"You're welcome, Captain. It was the least that I could do."

"I'm curious to know what the most you could do would be," he said mischievously. She reached up and batted at his face in mock aggravation.

"I'm sure that you would, Nathan."

He gently pushed her off of him as he felt a coughing fit coming on. Once he had finished, she laid against him once more.

"I'll certainly be glad when I'm over this cold," sighed Nathan, mopping his face with a hankie. "It's extremely inconvenient."

"I'll be glad when you're over this cold as well." Kristin smiled and snuggled her head against his chest.

* * *

A few days later, Nathan appeared to be over his cold. Kristin allowed him out of bed for longer periods of time and he was no longer doubled over with sneezing and coughing, which was certainly a good sign.

Before long, he had resumed his position at the bridge, and, although the crew wasn't going to admit it, they were relieved that he was back.

The very same day that he resumed command, he went down to the mess hall for his lunch period, determined to have the orange that Kristin had denied him on the day that he had fallen ill; she had been firm in her decision that Vitamin C supplements would be better for him than the fruit. He was fairly certain that she was teasing him again.

Settling into his plastic chair, Nathan began again to peel at the orange fruit, watching the peelings fall from his fingers onto the napkin. Once the fruit had shed the outer covering, he slipped a juicy quarter into his mouth and chewed appreciatively. It was a good orange.

"Enjoying that, are we?" Kristin smiled, setting her tray down next to his napkin and taking a seat.

"As a matter of fact, we are." Nathan slid another quarter between his teeth and smacked his lips. "It's rather good."

Kristin produced an orange of her own and began to peel it as well, causing Nathan to laugh. "I thought that you didn't eat oranges, Doctor."

She grinned and coughed into her arm. "I don't."

He studied her for a moment, chewing thoughtfully. "Was that a cough, Dr. Westphalen?"

She began to cut her orange into slices. "I don't know what you're talking about, Nathan."

"I'm quite sure that I heard a cough." Nathan pulled her orange away from her and studied her. "Let me take a look, Dr. Westphalen."

She batted him away with her hand. "I'm fine, Nathan."

"It wouldn't do for the head of the research team to be ill, now would it?" he scolded, pulling her to her feet and offering her a kiss on her lips.

She allowed herself a smile. "No. I don't suppose that it would."


End file.
